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Arrieta Wind Statistics, January averages since 2006

This image shows how commonly and how strongly the wind blows from different directions over a normal January. The longest spokes point in the directions the wind most commonly blows from and the shade of blue implies the strength, with the darkest shade of blue showing the strongest winds. It is based on 2620 NWW3 forecasts of wind since since 2007, at 3hr intervals, for the closest NWW3 model node to Arrieta, located 41 km away (25 miles). There are not enough recording stations world wide to use actual wind data. No doubt some coastal places have very localized wind effects that would not be predicted by NWW3.

According to the model, the prevailing wind at Arrieta blows from the NNW. If the rose graph shows a fairly circular pattern, it means there is no strong bias in wind direction at Arrieta. By contrast, dominant spokes illustrate favoured directions, and the more dark blue, the stronger the wind. Spokes point in the direction the wind blows from. During a typical January, the model suggests that winds are light enough for the sea to be glassy (light blue) about 5% of the time (2 days each January) and blows offshore 14% of the time (2 days in an average January). Over an average January winds stronger than >40kph (25mph) are expected on 2 days at Arrieta

IMPORTANT: Beta version feature! Swell heights are open water values from NWW3. There is no attempt to model near-shore effects. Coastal wave heights will generally be less, especially if the break does not have unobstructed exposure to the open ocean.